


Stay With Me

by MaddieandChimney



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of car accident, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: The car had come out of nowhere, on the wrong side of the road, leaving Buck with no time to swerve out the way. Maddie had once told him she hadn’t given up and now she had so much more to fight for.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales, Madney One-Shots





	Stay With Me

13\. CPR

Maddie had been so completely focused on the unconscious man, her hands pressed against his chest as she pumped, begging him to breathe, she hadn’t even heard the sirens heading towards them. Arms wrapped around her and she could her name being called, but it seemed far away. She couldn’t breathe, she was physically and mentally exhausted, she had almost forgotten how tiring CPR could be and she hadn’t taken note of how long the stranger had been down. “He’s gone.” The voice seemed closer this time and hands were running through her hair, but it didn’t seem real. 

“He’s gone.” The words were repeated and she realised the voice belonged to her brother – her little brother who had been in the car. Maddie pulled back and finally saw him for the first time since she had run from their car, how could she have forgotten about him? Had she checked on him? She couldn’t remember. 

He was bleeding, his nose must have been broken from the airbag, and he had a pained expression on his face from an injury she was sure she couldn’t see right then. Had she left him alone in the car? The panic was rising, her chest felt tight, her heart was beating faster with each passing second and she shook her head. Regret immediately followed when a wave of sickness washed over her, followed by dizziness.

“Don’t move.” Buck whispered, both his hands settling on either side of her face, he was looking into her eyes and she wondered what he was looking for. Before she realised that slowly but surely, the adrenaline that had been keeping her going, was draining from her body and all she began to feel was an overwhelming pain through every nerve in her body. Her brother was encouraging her to lay down, his hands still trying to keep her head stable before he looked around and called for someone to help them.

Maddie recognised the way her body felt right then, she was about to go into shock, her exhaustion was trying to get the best of her and for a moment, she wanted to give in. But her brother was talking to her and he was crying, telling her she had to stay awake and she couldn’t let him down. She had let him down so many times in the past. His hands shook and she heard a sob escape his lips before he called out for someone he must have recognised – he was right next to her but his voice seemed so far away.

“You’re going to be okay. They’re here, they’re here… just hang on in there for me, Maddie.”

Her eyes longed to fall to a close but then she saw him, she saw the worry on his face as he whispered something to her brother before finally, Evan let her go. She felt confused, she had felt fine when she had gotten out of the car, she had felt fine when she was checking on the driver of the car that had hit theirs, she hadn’t felt any pain as she had pressed her fingers to his neck as she checked for a pulse. Now it was all she could feel. 

“Keep your eyes open, Maddie, I need you to keep your eyes open. You were in an accident, but I’ve got you.” She wanted to tell him that she was trying, she was trying so hard but she was so tired. Maybe if she could just close her eyes for five minutes, just to try and get a little bit of rest. Maybe if she could just close them to avoid the bright, flashing lights and the scared look on her husbands face.

Buck was back by her side, his hand holding onto hers the moment they had wheeled her into the back of the ambulance. “You know the drill, you have to keep your eyes open.” She was tired of hearing the two men she loved so much telling her what she already knew, didn’t they understand that she was trying her best? She was fighting to stay awake, they had a child at home, she had to get home.

But she was so tired.

* * *

The long beep of the machine forced Buck to drop his grip on his sisters hand as he panicked, looking at his brother-in-law who had leapt into action without a moments hesitation. Buck couldn’t speak, he just stared at the scene in front of him as Chimney fought to keep Maddie with them. She couldn’t leave them, she had promised she wouldn’t leave him again. 

The car had come out of nowhere, on the wrong side of the road, leaving Buck with no time to swerve out the way. It was their first Buckley sibling night out since Maddie had given birth just a few months previously, it was meant to be a fun few hours for the two to catch up, and now it was a nightmare. He was reminded of riding in the ambulance with her after finding her all those years previously, when she told him she hadn’t given up. She had made it through then, he was sure she would make it through now – she had more to fight for now. She had a husband and a daughter, she had him and the rest of the extended 118 family, she had friends, a job she loved.. there was so much in her life to stay alive for.

The relief washed over him when her heart started beating again, signalled by the slow and comforting beeps. She was still there, she just had to hang on a little longer. “I don’t understand, the car hit us but she was conscious. She was okay, I thought she was okay. She was talking, she made sure that I was okay before she ran to check on the idiot who hit us. She tried so hard to save his life but it had been too long… she didn’t give up for fifteen minutes but I had to grab her finally. I hadn’t noticed how much blood… it was pouring from her head… I hadn’t noticed before and I should have but I-I thought she was okay. She was moving…”

He rambled on before Chimney finally stopped him, “Adrenaline.” Was the one word answer that came from the terrified looking man, his face paler than Buck had ever seen, he had somehow aged ten years in the last ten minutes.

“She was okay.” Bucks voice was only a small whisper, ignoring the pain he felt so he could take his sisters hand again. The throbbing in his shoulder seemed to increase, but his focus was entirely on the unconscious woman, willing her to pull through. It didn’t seem fair, she had more to live for than he did, he’d give anything to swap positions with her right then.

* * *

When they had gotten the call, Chimney had thought it would be just like any other shift. Another car accident, someone else to treat and comfort. He had recognised the car before he had seen either his wife or his brother-in-law. Buck had been holding the woman as still as he possibly could, and for just a moment, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to help. Luckily, Hen was there to take the lead, and all he could do was comfort his wife unsure if she could hear him. 

When he had said goodbye to her that morning, pressing his lips against hers before he had waved goodbye to their five month old daughter, he hadn’t imagined just a few hours later he’d be in the back of an ambulance trying to get her heart to start again. She was meant to be having fun with her brother, it was the first baby free hours she had since Amelia Joy had been born. The tragedy was meant to be over, he couldn’t let his daughter grow up without her mother.

He sobbed when her heart started to beat on its own again, thanking whoever was watching over them, pleading with them to make sure that Maddie stayed there with them. She was an amazing mother, Amelia needed her and he needed her, she couldn’t just be taken away from them without any warning.

He barely heard a word of what Buck was saying, just catching a word every so often, his eyes remaining on the brunette. Her head wound was the most obvious and concerning injury, but he was sure Hen had called out she could have broken her ribs, and her wrist. He muttered one word to Buck, even though he knew he needed something more but right then, he couldn’t think of anything more to say. He had no words of wisdom or comforting advice, he needed Maddie to be okay. He needed to hear her laugh and see her smile, his last memory of her couldn’t be in the back of the 118 ambulance.

His eyes fell to a close as he tried to replace the image of her pale face, with the grin he had seen on her face that morning. She had been dancing around the living room as she held the giggling baby, singing along to the radio and he had snapped himself a photograph, vowing to remember the moment for the rest of his life. He didn’t want that to be the last photograph he took of her. 

* * *

When her eyes opened, she could hear her husband talking to a babbling baby before she glanced over. He hadn’t noticed she was awake yet, and she took the precious few seconds to watch as their daughter kept clumsily open mouth kissing her daddy, a huge grin on her face. Chimney looked exhausted but happy to have the baby in his arms, Maddie’s heart swelled with love as she thought of how lucky she was to have him, how lucky Amelia was.

“Maddie?” He noticed her looking at them, and he quickly moved to be closer to her bedside, up close she could see just how worried he had been. His eyes were red from crying, she could only imagine how long it had been since he had slept, depending on how long she had been unconscious for.

Her arm reached out for the two of them, frowning when she noticed the cast on her wrist, but happy when he placed the baby in the crook of her arm anyway. “My babies.” She mumbled, smiling despite the pain radiating through her body when his lips were against her own.

“You scared me.” He admitted, “We lost you, it was only for a minute but it was the worst and longest minute of my entire life.” He would have thought he’d have been cried out at that point, having spent the last twenty four hours in the hospital as he thought of a life without her. How suddenly real that possibility had become. Her body had just been so exhausted, she had been in so much pain, her heart had given out. She had come back to him, to them, but it was the closest he ever wanted to be to knowing what a world without Maddie looked like.

He knew he had to get a doctor to let them know she was awake but he needed a moment to remember that she was awake, and she was breathing, she would be okay. “You needed stitches, you must have hit your head on the window… you have a concussion but they said you were lucky.” He didn’t feel she was lucky, lucky would be injury free, “You broke your wrist and two ribs, dislocated your shoulder and you have whiplash.”

“Evan?” Her brother had been with her, she’d have expected him to be in the room when she woke up. Chimney saw the look of fear on her face and he smiled, of course she would be more concerned with someone else, “Broken nose – he looks awful and he’s not happy about it – he broke his collarbone, and he’s suffering from a serious case of thinking this is all his fault.” Of course he was, she knew she would have felt the same had she been driving but it had all happened so suddenly and quickly, he couldn’t have prevented what happened. 

“The driver?” Anger flashed in her husbands eyes for just a second, but he pushed it back, “Died on the scene, he was drunk, extremely drunk. Was involved in another drunken accident six years ago, the driver of the other car died… he had just gotten out of jail.” And he could have killed his wife and her brother, the youngest members of the Buckley family could have been wiped out just like that. Chimney would never be glad someone had died but this was the closest he had come. He knew how it felt to grow up without a mother, he couldn’t wish it on anyone.

“I’m going to get a doctor.” She hadn’t replied, she was processing the information, her nose pressed against Amelia’s hair as she inhaled the scent of their beautiful baby girl and she thought of how lucky she was. Lucky to be alive, to be holding her baby, to be kissed by her husband, to be able to have the time to heal so she could live to tell, yet another, tale to her friends and therapist.

“I love you.” Her Howie quickly turned around before he left the room, suddenly feeling as though he hadn’t said it enough, making a promise that he would say it as much as he possibly could for as long as he could. Relief washed over him when she looked up, a grin on her face despite everything, “And I love you. Now go ask the doctor when I can go home.”


End file.
